OPP officer killed in line of duty comes home to Barrie – CTV News Barrie

A police procession to escort Ontario Provincial Police Const. Grzegorz “Greg” Pierzchala Friday travelled along Highway 400 as it made its way to the 28-year-old officer’s hometown of Barrie, Ont.
The procession departed from the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto at 9:00 a.m. and exited at Duckworth Street in Barrie.
Countless members of the public joined first responders in a show of respect from several overpasses along the highway, holding signs and waving as the procession drove by.
Residents line the streets to await the arrival of the funeral procession for Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Const. Grzegorz “Greg” Pierzchala on Fri., Dec. 30, 2022. (CTV News/Kraig Krause)
OPP posted a video to Twitter from a police cruiser in the procession, and one officer, ‘Evan,’ one of Pierzchala’s shift-mates, can be heard discussing Const. Pierzchala with OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt,
“You know Greg, he always showed up incredibly early, and on the first day he walked in, he was a very humble guy, a little on the quiet side. A very confident manner, quiet but confident.”
The officer went on to add, “There’s more to this guy than meets the eye. Not even a thread of arrogance whatsoever,” he said while talking about how much the slain constable loved wrestling, and how he was “the kind of guy you want your daughter to marry.”
“He was so coachable, he was so trainable,” the officer is heard saying in the video. “Pleasure, pleasure working with him.”
On Tuesday, Pierzchala was fatally gunned down while responding to a call west of Hagersville.
The OPP noted the day he died was Pierzchala’s first solo shift since completing his probationary period.
“He was a hero,” Schmidt said while driving behind the hearse north on Highway 400. “Greg, you’re almost home.”
“Greg is just, he’s smiling down upon us now,” an officer is heard saying.
Following the procession, a police funeral will be held in Barrie on Wednesday, Jan. 4, with OPP confirming that the details will be announced once they have been finalized.
Two people, a man and woman, have been charged with first-degree murder in connection the with constable’s death.
Procession of OPP Provincial Constable Grzegorz Pierzchala https://t.co/TqhpIHYaBH
A 24-year-old woman from Brantford, Ont., is facing dozens of criminal charges, including harassment, fraud and sexual assault, after police say she sought the help of registered doulas for pregnancies and stillbirths that turned out to be fake.

While the risk of a bank failure in Canada isn't zero, many of the circumstances that led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank don't apply in the Canadian banking sector.

Authorities in British Columbia are investigating after 17 wild horses were shot in what Mounties are calling a "disheartening act."

U.S. and Russian officials had conflicting accounts of the collision between the MQ-9 Reaper drone and the Russian Su-27 fighter jet — each blaming the other. But a Pentagon spokesman raised the possibility that the Defense Department could eventually declassify and release video it has of the collision.

A proposed class-action lawsuit over the 'Freedom Convoy' has expanded to include more potential downtown Ottawa plaintiffs and added more defendants.

New research from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology describes stone-tool resembling artifacts made by monkeys in Thailand that may indicate that the first human use of stone tools was accidental.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says if he were to be elected prime minister he would launch a $44-billion lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies to account for what he calls their role in the opioid epidemic.

Nearly four months after OpenAI stunned the tech industry with ChatGPT, the company is releasing its next-generation version of the technology that powers the viral chatbot tool.

The alleged driver who killed two people and injured nine with a pick-up truck in the small Quebec town of Amqui on Monday has been charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death. Steeve Gagnon, 38, appeared in court to formally face the charges in relation to the incident, which police have alleged was a deliberate act.

Michelin says it plans to spend $140 million to modernize its plant in Bridgewater, N.S., to help meet the global demand for tires for electric vehicles.

A New Brunswick mother believes an ongoing coroner’s inquest examining how her daughter was able to take her own life within a hospital’s psychiatric unit is proceeding toward useful recommendations.

More than 4,000 patients in the Halifax area will soon be without a doctor once two long-time family physicians in Spryfield retire.

Premier François Legault will evaluate the CEO and board of directors of Quebec's auto insurance board (SAAQ) in the coming weeks.

Montreal is getting a new aquarium that is set to open next year. Ecorecreo Group is leading the development of the "world-class" attraction in midtown's Royalmount complex.

A proposed class-action lawsuit over the 'Freedom Convoy' has expanded to include more potential downtown Ottawa plaintiffs and added more defendants.

People across Ottawa and beyond are pitching in with donations to help the victims of a fire in Overbrook last month.

Police in Kingston, Ont. are looking for six suspects after a serious assault in the city’s west end.

A new program helps homebuyers with their down payment in return for a share of future profits.

The city is refusing to back down from a court battle with an elderly man over artificial grass.

Transit riders have been given a sneak peek at the driverless trains that will operate on the Ontario Line subway extension.

A 24-year-old woman from Brantford, Ont., is facing dozens of criminal charges, including harassment, fraud and sexual assault, after police say she sought the help of registered doulas for pregnancies and stillbirths that turned out to be fake.

Arguments at the Ontario Court of Appeal continue Tuesday as Dellen Millard and Mark Smich attempt to have their murder convictions overturned.

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the U.S. led to a weekend of crisis management in Waterloo Region as roughly 10 per cent of tech start-ups in Canada faced a cash crunch following the bank’s collapse.

A 28-year-old from St. Thomas has been charged after the vehicle they were driving left the road early Tuesday morning and careened into a ditch.

A second person has been arrested and charged in relation to a homicide on Kipps Lane. According to London police, 28-year-old Devon Ferguson-Feit was charged with second degree murder on Tuesday.

Few details are known at this time, but police in Sarnia, Ont. are investigating a death that occurred Tuesday morning.

Tuesday afternoon, the Crown accused Robert Steven Wright of stabbing Renee Sweeney to death following a struggle inside the Adults Only Video store in January 1998.

A wildly unpredictable Juno Awards unfolded on Monday as a topless protester charged the stage, leading to some feisty words from Avril Lavigne, while an absent the Weeknd emerged the top winner this year.

Following an audit by the Roman Catholic Church, 27 Jesuits have been linked to complaints of child sexual abuse and 13 of them worked in northern Ontario. WARNING: This article contains information about allegations of sexual abuse against children by members of the church and may be upsetting to read.

A potentially deadly drug is creeping into Ontario’s street drug supply and fueling overdoses. Xylazine, also known as "tranq,” is an animal tranquillizer used in veterinary medicine that is not approved for use in humans — the drug can be cut with opioids such as fentanyl.

35 years after the first Pi Day was celebrated in San Francisco, many residents in Windsor, Ont. continued to recognize the math-based celebration. Pi Day pies were in demand at local bakeries and pizzerias where people lined up to indulge on March 14.

A 32-year-old man is facing multiple charges in connection to a rash of break-ins at 13 local businesses.

Calgary city council has passed a bylaw meant to curb protests near or inside recreation facilities and libraries following hours of debate on Tuesday with a vote of 10 to 5.

The first season of HBO's 'The Last of Us' aired its finale on March 12 and the show has been taking the world by storm since its premiere.

Calgary city council wants a new approach to funding public art installations. The plan would see public money from infrastructure put into public artworks, but will change where that artwork is ultimately displayed.

A Saskatoon woman who is unable to identify herself due to a court-ordered publication ban she's fighting to remove says she is disappointed she wasn't able to face her former gym teacher in court on Monday.

The Prince Albert police are investigating after a woman was found dead in a home Tuesday morning.

Saskatoon police had traffic restricted on Idylwyld Drive Tuesday afternoon as they pursued several suspects who fled from a stolen vehicle.

The wife of a self-proclaimed spiritual leader has been arrested, police have confirmed to CTV News Edmonton.

After a weekend shooting that seriously injured a Pizza Hut employee in Woodcroft, some Edmontonians are asking why it took police so long to publicly release details about the incident.

Police in Edmonton say a charge is pending after a topless protester interrupted the Juno Awards. Pop-punk star Avril Lavigne was caught off-guard Monday night when the woman leapt on the stage.

As her neighbouring counterpart revives his "Alberta is calling" campaign, B.C.'s jobs minister is downplaying the first brain drain the province has seen in more than a decade.

When the city rezones a property to allow more density, its value can increase many times over, basically overnight. Vancouver has a strategy for dealing with that fact. Is it still working?

March break comes just two and half months after many British Columbia travellers were forced to change their Christmas plans after cancelled flights swept the country, which resulted in thousands of complaints.